This Lively Game
by CayshaGriffin
Summary: Will you still love all of me? Batman/Joker, Bruce/Jacob, slash. The fourth and last installment in the Bruce/Jacob series, staring with 'Surprises On Street Corners', 'A Dreary World For Us' and 'Dank Dawns and Wild Nights'.


Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or Joker, a sad fact, but true.

A/N: The last installment of the Bruce/Jacob series. I really do appreciate all the people who have followed this strange series, you've all be incredibly lovely. Thank you. Hope you enjoy!

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An hour later he finally found the Joker by the docks, knee deep in dead bodies with a devilish smile on his painted lips.

It took minimal force to grab the clowns lapels and ram him up against the nearest boat side. But he put a little more into it, making the Joker's laugh rattle somewhere in the middle.

"'_Hiya honey_," the clown crooned thickly. "You're _late_."

"So you kill eight people?" Batman growled.

The Joker looked back at the vigilante, unphased by the anger. "You say that like I've never done worse," he said thoughtfully, tongue darting out to swipe over his exposed scars. Dipping his head down, green eyes looked up at Batman through barely there blond lashes. "And we both know that's not true."

Batman grit his teeth. "If this is about..."

"Oh, I didn't do this." The Joker said with a casual wave of his hand at the bodies littering the dock. "Not my, uh..._style_. You know that."

He couldn't see Jacob in this man with the curling lips and pitted eyes. He stopped looking.

"The evidence isn't exactly in your favor, Joker." Batman reminded.

"I can see that," Joker said matter of factly, nodding like a broken bobble head. "May wanna check it again though, _de_-tec-tive. _They're cold_."

The vigilante loosened his grip enough to let the Joker's feet touch the ground again.

"Don't move," he warned the clown, not expecting the Joker to listen as Batman released him and moved closer to the crime scene.

Kneeling next to one of the bodies, he saw the blue lips. Cold as ice. The Joker had an alibi. He couldn't have done this between the time he'd spent as Jacob and now.

Inspecting the body closer he found large chunks of flesh missing, the other corpses had similar marks. There were jagged cuts to each mark, looking almost like...

"Bite marks," Batman said aloud.

"_What smile signals death_?" The Joker quoted next to Batman's crouched form, looking down at the dead man with detached curiosity.

Batman glared at him before standing. "You would know since you wrote it." He accused.

The Joker rolled his eyes. "Riddles aren't really my thing." he said with a shrug before he smiled triumphantly. "But I _did_ figure it out before you. These _lucky ducks_ got dunked in a shipment of parahnas for the aquarium." The Joker's grin was sharp. "Nom nom."

Batman scowled. "How did you even find out about it?"

The riddle had been sent to the GCPD weeks ago, a calling card to a recent string of unidentified mass murders. So far Batman had found no vyable leads.

The Joker quirked a brow. "Do you _really_ want to know?"

Batman pointedly ignored him.

"I'm calling in the police. You should leave," He said instead in a brisk tone, glancing back at the Joker pointedly.

But the painted man didn't move. And Batman turned at the uncharacteristic silence.

"I was good." Was all the Joker said.

It took a moment for Batman to understand what he meant, but when it registered he was struck silent by the reminder.

He'd been rough with the Joker in the beginning of their relationship for many reasons. Some Bruce had managed to come to terms with over time, some that would linger forever. But the continued aggression in bed after so long was because the Joker wanted it, goaded him on to punch bite and abuse him. It just wasn't until now that he realized the Joker thought it was the only kind of love Bruce was capable of showing him.

Maybe it was time to change that.

He moved forward fast enough to put the Joker on guard for a fight until he tangled a gloved hand in green hair and stopped just short of pressing their lips together. He felt when the Joker released the breath he'd been holding.

Trembling hands rest on his hips as gritted teeth were bared at him.

"_Coward_," the Joker accused.

Batman took his time proving just how wrong that accusation was.

----

Hours passed before Batman could finally leave the docks, letting Gordon's men finish up at the crime scene.

It seemed like forever ago that the Joker had pulled away from the kiss, an unreadable expression in his eyes, before the approaching sirens had the madman running to god knows where. Even after he'd wiped the greasepaint from his mouth, Bruce could still feel that kiss.

Had Bruce broken them? Had he crossed a line that was never supposed to be approached, let alone jumped over? The Joker was known for his taunts, but maybe even he'd gotten in over his head this time. Dared Bruce to do something neither one them expected him to do.

What if he...

Bruce didn't know how or why, but he made it across town to Jacob's apartment before he even realized where he was going.

The bolt held very little resistance under a skilled lock pickers hand.

The cowl hit the floor before he even finished crossing the threshold, the rest of his armor following soon after, leaving a trail of kevlar and cape as he moved through the brightly lit halls to reach the bedroom.

For all the noise Bruce made, Jacob still looked surprised when he glanced up to find the nearly naked vigilante standing in the doorway.

The younger man looked quiet the wreck. Sitting on the still rumpled bed in nothing but a towel, in a room that still clung with the smell of love making. His blond hair was wet and hanging around a face that looked like it'd been scrubbed raw, the pink of unmasked scars splashed across his pale cheeks. For a mass murdering maniac, he looked half terrified, half caught in unbelieving wonder.

Bruce thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

For a moment, there was nothing but calculating silence.

"I didn't think you were coming back," Jacob admitted quietly.

Bruce smirked weakly. "I didn't think you'd still be here."

He watched Jacob blink, comb back his wet hair and put on a smile that was half his, half the Joker's. It fit perfectly on his face. "Quiet the night for _surprises_."

"Have room for a few more?" Bruce asked, moving further into the room.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, watching him carefully. "Depends. What kind are they?"

Bruce smiled.

"The kind I have to show you." He said before closing the door.

Shutting out the light and plunging them both into sweet, cool darkness.

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P.S. I love reviews!


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